Pagani

Argentine-born Horacio Pagani got involved with racing and race-car design in his twenties, and then got a job with Lamborghini. He rose to head Lamborghini's composite-materials department, and worked with the design team on several new models. Since 1999, Pagani Automobili of Italy has hand-built a few dozen coupe and roadster variants of its Zonda supercar, which was named for a warm, dry wind that blows across the Andes. Powered by a large-displacement Mercedes-Benz/AMG V12, this mid-engined, carbon-fiber exotic provides acceleration, speed, and handling to match most cars in its rarified class. For around half a million dollars, the original 6-liter Zonda C12 surrounded its lucky owner in a luxurious custom cockpit while rapidly accelerating to 185 mph. The C12-S added a liter of displacement, $100,000 in price, and an additional 35 mph in top speed. Introduced in 2006, the Zonda F is a lighter and even more aerodynamic competition version of the C12-S. Its 7.3-liter V12 accelerates the GR from 0 to 60 mph in 3.3 seconds. In 2006, Pagani debuted the Zonda Roadster F, a lighter and extremely aerodynamic road version. Its 7.3-liter V12, for a 650 horsepower in Clubsport version, accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds. In 2009, the Zonda Cinque was introduced, of which only five were produced. The Zonda combines the highest performance with wildly good looks, luxury, and owner customization to make each of the few built a unique automobile.

2009 Pagani Zonda Cinque Roadster - Photo by Seps1974

Pagani didn’t mess with a successful formula with the release of a Zonda Cinque Roadster, retaining all of the distinctive Zonda elements you know and love (such as the immense, mid-mounted Mercedes-Benz/AMG V12) and improving them—and then lopping off the top. The simplest way to think about the Cinque is to consider it a road version of the race-only Zonda R that you can cruise down the boulevard in, if you’d like. Although it’s street legal, it’d be unfortunate to mar the lower carbon fiber bodywork on a speedbump, because even with suspension that can lift up the nose in just such a circumstance the Cinque is still ludicrously low. If you do snag the front spoiler, good luck finding a spare: in case the name of this Pagani didn’t tip you off, only five Cinques will be made, and they’re each eye-wateringly expensive. Then again, if you can afford one, the sheer joy of unleashing 678 thundering horses from just behind your head while enjoying open-air cruising surely means you’d overlook such trifling drawbacks of ownership. As if this alone doesn’t give a Cinque owner bragging rights, consider this: the Cinque is the first automotive application of a new carbon fiber-titanium composite, giving the bare material a slightly different look as the titanium strands are visible in the weave. As much an engineering masterpiece as a stunning performer, this rare Zonda is surely one of the most unique supercars ever produced.

2012 Pagani Huayra - Photo by HOOKERno1

When you think of Pagani cars, it’s natural to think of craftsmanship, performance, and a Platonic ideal of automotive beauty. All of those elements come together in the Pagani Huayra, the latest supercar from Horacio Pagani, and perhaps his most compelling automotive vision yet. It’s easy to get lost in the visual elements—the gullwing doors or those audacious rear view mirrors. The same goes for the interior—a lush mixture of aluminum, leather, and fine Swiss craftsmanship (for the dashboard instruments). The Huayra has been a long time in the making—Pagani began work on the car in 2003. But, like all works of art—automotive or otherwise—true beauty takes time.